Great audiobook – and funny, too
“Funny” books can quickly get tedious; once you know the author’s style you start to anticipate the jokes and the humour lessens with each one. Not with I Predict a Riot, however. It’s quite a long book, but kept me entertained from beginning to end. I listen to audiobooks at night as an alternative to reading because it keeps my husband awake when I have the light on. Listening to this probably disturbed his sleep more than a reading lamp, because I kept laughing.
Superintendent James ‘Marsh’ Mallow, of the Belfast CID, is doing his utmost to bring down politician and racketeer Pink Harrison. Unfortunately, doing so might cause trouble: full-scale rioting is likely to flare up.
This is an all-action firecracker. It’s farce, really, and normally I don’t much like humour based on farce, but the characters are so rich and entertaining and the plot is such fun that it’s a thoroughly enjoyable read. Light and shallow, but great fun.
In fact, despite its lightness, it’s a damned good novel. Well structured, good plot and great characterization. I’ll definitely be buying more of Bateman’s books. Oh, and last but not least, the narration by Adam Moore was fantastic. The voice felt completely right, the pacing was excellent and the Northern Irish accent was strong enough to suit the content without ever being difficult to understand.
I’m about to start reading Cycle of Violence (which has the most entertaining first page I’ve read in a long time) and I’ve just bought the audio version of Belfast Confidential. Audio versions of Mystery Man and The Day of the Jack Russell are in the pipeline. I can’t wait! (Hope they’ll be read by Adam Moore again.)
You might also like: Holding – Graham North.
